AV FESTIVAL 06: FILMS Thu 2 March 2006 – Sun 12 March 2006

The AV Festival 06 film programme included 29 screenings of features, shorts, and documentaries, in venues across Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Cinema has played a central role in our visions of the future, showing us images of artificially intelligent robots on such a regular basis that the notion of lifelike technology became almost commonplace. This vision of lifelike technology is reflected in classics like Blade Runner and The Stepford Wives.

The Festival also explored how biotechnology, genetic engineering and cloning have altered the way we imagine life. This depiction of a genetically designed life is shown in films such as Gattaca, Able Edwards and Code 46, whilst the documentary reality of biotechnology is shown in Marching Plague.

Critical Art Ensemble: Marching Plague

Sat 4 March 2006, 6.45pm

Tyneside Cinema

The film Marching Plague is Critical Art Ensemble’s newest work and a powerful critique of UK-US bio-weapons research...more

Richard Fenwick: What I Know About Stem Cells

Sat 4 March 2006, 5pm

Tyneside Cinema

AV Festival 06 presented the world premiere of a newly commissioned film by Richard Fenwick. What I Know About Stem Cells...more

Richard Fenwick: Artificial Worlds V.3.0

Sat 11 March 2006, 7.30pm

Middlesbrough Empire

AV Festival 06 presented the world premiere of a stunning new film by Richard Fenwick, one of a generation of new filmmakers...more

Various Artists: LifeLike Short Films

Sat 4 March 2006, 3pm

Tyneside Cinema

This fascinating selection of recent digital film and animation work responds to the AV Festival 06 theme. Including motion...more

Star & Shadow Short Films

Tue 7 March 2006, 6pm

Tyneside Cinema

The seven works in this short programme range from films that engage with biotechnology, videos that use new media to represent biological and...more

Ishiro Honda: Gojira / Godzilla

Thu 9 March 2006, 8.30pm

Tyneside Cinema

In 2005 the BFI gave the original uncut Japanese Godzilla (Gojira) its first-ever UK release, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the first atomic...more

James Whale: Frankenstein

Wed 8 March 2006, 6pm

Tyneside Cinema

Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster from various posthumous ‘donors’ and combines them into a creature, to which he wishes to bestow life. The film...more

Woody Allen: Sleeper

Sat 11 March 2006, 6pm

Tyneside Cinema

Woody Allen stars as Miles Monroe, a health-food store owner and clarinet player who walks into a hospital for minor treatment, falls into a coma...more

David Cronenberg: eXistenZ

Tue 7 March 2006, 7.30pm

Kino Middlesbrough

Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the world’s leading games designer. Her new virtual reality game ‘eXistenZ’ links players to the game by a...more

David Cronenberg: Shivers

Wed 8 March 2006, 7.30pm

Kino Middlesbrough

Though he made a huge splash in 2005 with his acclaimed A History of Violence, Cronenberg’s reputation was built on a string of truly strange and...more